Happy Halloween!!

When you're 37 years old, you shouldn't feel like I do the day after Halloween. Seriously. I didn't run wild from house to house or even indulge in a ridiculous amount of candy. I only had 1 tiny 3 Musketeers. I did however have 4 glasses of wine which apparently will cause a massive headache in the morning. I've taken 3 Advil & had a Dr. Pepper & I still feel like total crapola. Ugh. Not to mention I'm exhausted from all of the weekend activities!

Friday was my birthday. Dean & I had dinner at Mansurs on the Boulevard. SOOOOO good. We had the crab cakes for an appetizer. I'm on some sort of crab cake kick (say that 3 times fast) lately. LOVE THEM!! The lettuce wedge was one of the best I've had. Probably because it had lots of dressing with lots of blue cheese crumbles in it. For me the more dressing the better. Then for my entree I had the Shrimp Vacherie which is seafood stuffed shrimp that are fried & served with Creollaise (a sauce that was to die for) & rosotto. I really enjoyed it!

Saturday, I went with my mom & did some shopping. I didn't buy much but we went to a store in town that's going out of business & they had a ton of Christmas stuff. Everything was 50%. I picked up a few things but this place is really expensive for the most part so at 50% stuff was still pricey. We ate a late lunch at the Chimes. Yes, if you're a regular reader you know that we ate there Wed. night! I wanted a cheeseburger & theirs are really really good plus my mom had never been there so off we went. DELICIOUS!!!  Dean & I went to Mass Saturday afternoon. Our Church Fair was this weekend so after Mass we hung out there. There were a ton of people that we knew so it was fun.

There's a Christmas store in town that's going out of business that was having a 50% off sale. This store is like the other store we went to Sat. in that they're pretty expensive. I'm guessing that has something to do with why they're both going out of business. Anyway, I picked up a few ornaments there too. The place was full of stuff but I didn't find a whole lot that I liked which is really unusual.

Halloween is a really big deal in our subd. Before Trick or Treat starts there's a party down the street with food & drinks & train rides for the kids.  We went down there for a little bit & then just a few houses down from us a neighbor cooks jambalaya & has desserts & chips & dip so we hung out down there most of the night. All the neighbor kids looked really cute but only a few would pose for pictures. This is Amelia-Ann as an "80's girl".

Here's Amelia-Ann & Allie. They didn't plan to both be 80's girls!

Amelia-Ann & her cronies, Gretchen & Maddie. I don't remember what Gretchen was supposed to be but Maddie was a dead cheerleader & apparently, she kept laying on the ground playing dead. I missed it but Dean witnessed it. They're too funny!

Amelia-Ann isn't shy can you tell??

This is our Godchild Abigail. She was Barbie. I think she'd just about had enough for one day!! That's her twin Gavin in the background. He refused to be in the picture.

Me & Anna were hanging out watching the "Fashion Show" that we weren't notified of. Amazing what some of the moms were wearing. Dresses & knee high boots. Really cute stuff but good grief they were walking the neighborhood trick or treating with their kids! I did have my hair fixed but it was HOT so I pulled it up.

Dean & Allie were talking Volleyball & discussing strategy. 

We had a really good weekend but I sure hope this day goes by fast because I need to lay on the sofa & recover!

Toodles!

Gap & Goth

Last night we went to watch our neighbor, Allie, play Volleyball. She's a Junior in high school & is really good. Her school played the school that our other neighbor is the Asst. Principal at. We were all there & we had such a good time. It's been a long time since I've been to a volleyball game. Our friend Katie played at LSU & we went to a lot of those games but it's been years. There have been some rule changes in those years. The team doesn't have to be serving to score anymore. I like that because it makes everything go faster. Allie's team is undefeated in their district but the team they played last night is in a higher classification. We were all expecting it to not be even a little bit close. Surprisingly, Allie's team won the first game, match, whatever you call it but then lost the next 3. The three they lost were really close, all by 2 points. I was sad to see them lose BUT I was really happy it was over because those bleachers in the high school gym are NOT comfortable AT ALL.

I noticed something while watching the games. Volleyball uniforms are really ugly. Seriously. Have you seen those shorts they wear? They must be uncomfortable because they girls are always tugging on them. Someone needs to come up with a new outfit.

Of course as with every event with this group of  friends we had to go eat. After some discussion & when I say discussion, I mean Amelia-Ann vetoing several places because of their level of "creepiness", we decided on The Chimes. We all love this place. It's always very hard to decide what to eat there because everything is soooo good. They have the best burgers. I decided on a combo of fried fish & shrimp because I knew I'd have leftovers that I could bring for lunch today. Of course, I'd forgotten that Wendy & I have a lunch date at Chick fil A today. I don't know if y'all have heard but the last Twilight movie is being filmed in Baton Rouge & New Orleans. This was a hot topic at our table because all the teenagers are stalking the cast. There have been tons of sightings around town. The girls were all in a tizzy because I made the comment that I think Taylor is the only one I'd recognize.  I read all the books but have no desire to see any of the movies. I went completely out of my comfort zone by reading the books. I really enjoyed them but I really don't need to see it on a big screen. This led Amelia-Ann to make this statement: "Mrs. Traci, THE GAP has gone GOTH!!". She was very disturbed by this. Apparently, she saw the confusion on my face because she launched into this big spiel about all the weird stuff they had in the store the other day. Consider this a public service announcement if you shop at The Gap & aren't into goth!! I suggested to her that maybe they weren't actually goth, maybe they just had stuff for Halloween.

Of course this little outing led to me getting to sleep way past my bedtime which means of course that I'm tired today. Oh well!

Toodles!!

Another Met Monday

I made another fall wreath. My friend Wendy decided that she wanted one. I made a quick Hob Lob run Saturday morning & was still able to get some things. The selection of fall floral stuff & picks was really small. They just didn't have a lot left but I think I was able to find some cute things.

I used a grapevine wreath & a fall swag. Then I added a few picks & flowers & made the bow. The fall ribbon was scarce but I managed to find one that I liked. Normally, I like to use two different types of ribbon for the bow but I only found one that was the size I like to work with so I just used it & made a big bow.

I also bought some things to start on Christmas wreaths that I'm making for my mom & some friends.

I'm linking to Susan's Met Monday party at Between Naps on the Porch & to Kristin's Uncommon Slice of Suburbia blog.

Toodles!

Overwhelmed!

Last night Dean & I ate at Texas de Brazil. We'd never been there before but have friends that have & highly recommended it. I was a little leery because the whole concept of this place is these gaucho guys walk around with slabs of meat & they slice it off onto your plate. It's all you can eat. I'm not a huge fan of meat. I mean it's ok & I'm by no means a vegetarian but I'm perfectly happy to have a meal consisting of appetizers & dips. When you sign up for their emails they send coupons for your birthday & anniversary. Our anniversary coupon was buy on get one free so we decided to try it. Regular price is $43 per person. They have a great salad bar. It has assorted cheeses, soups, veggies, grilled shrimp & what Dean says are the best black beans he's ever eaten in his life. I wouldn't know. I'm not a fan of beans. Anyway, we started with salad & then the meat started coming. My first problem is that the meat is prepared medium rare. Apparently, that's how the Brazilians eat meat. I'm a well done kind of girl. Like I don't want to see ANY pink whatsoever. All you have to do is tell them it's too rare & they'll go cook it more but if you're like me, the sight of the blood dripping from the meat makes you nauseous & pretty much negates any appetite you may have had. There were a few pieces of meat I liked. However, there was more that I didn't like. I tried lamb just because I've never had it. I'll never have it again. It tasted very gamey. I didn't like the chicken wrapped in bacon because it just tasted like a hot dog & I don't like hot dogs. Aside from the salad bar & the meat they bring garlic mashed potatoes, fried bananas & these little bread things that look like donut holes. The mashed potatoes were good & Dean says the bananas were too. I only like bananas in banana pudding & even then I could do without them. The bananas cleanse your pallet so you can "enjoy the different flavors of the meat".  The little bread things were REALLY good. It was almost like a sopapilla. Overall, I wasn't impressed. I was overwhelmed when the gauchos started swarming with meat but that was about it. I wouldn't go back. Dean liked a lot of the meat he tried but even he said it was a one time thing. What did we do after we left??? Went & got shakes at Sonic!!! I was way happier with my shake than I was with the meal!!

This morning I went & had a manicure. It was time for a new set of nails. I think I know how torture victims feel when their nails are ripped out. The nail guy asked if I wanted to soak my hands or for him to pop them off. Popping is quicker so I told him to do that. Several popped right off but several were a little stubborn & it HURT! Thankfully, this isn't something I have to do real often. Of course if I did I'd probably still do it. They look good & I'm all about looks over comfort.

I don't know if y'all have ever heard of Bargain Bee or Living Social but it's sites you can sign up on & they email you half price deals. Most are for restaurants in your area. I've bought several of them for some of our favorite restaurants. One day there was one for a bakery in town, Ambrosia. This bakery has some of the BEST baked stuff ever. After my mani I went to get a sweet treat.

This is the Fresh Strawberry Cake from Ambrosia. It is ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!

Today is LSU's biggest game of the season so far. We play Auburn. Our games against them have a history of weird things happening. With Les coaching I can't see it being any different this year. Both teams are undefeated & ranked high in the BCS. It's going to be interesting.

I hope everyone's having a great weekend!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Toodles!

Drop a Bozo!

Here's the thing...our fantasy football team No Thugs, is really not very good. I've been over this before. We had the last pick, we've only won 2 games this season, etc. Well, NOW we have injuries to deal with. Let me say this, talent has pretty much nothing to do with fantasy football. Seriously, it's all about luck. If anyone's husbands are trying to convince you of how smart they are because they're leading their league, don't buy it. It's LUCK!! And our luck isn't very good. This week our Kicker, Nate Kaeding,  is injured. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal because after all, he's a kicker BUT our Kicker is sometimes our second leading scorer. Yes, he scores more points than our RB & WR!! That would be running backs & wide receivers for those of you that are actually trying to keep up & have no idea what I'm talking about. So back to the injury, it's his shoulder. A kicker doesn't use his shoulder so why can't he play?? Anyway, when injuries occur teams are allowed to pick up a player to replace the injured one. This also requires teams to drop a player because of roster limitations. We don't know how serious Kaeding's injury is & being that he scores lots of points we don't want to drop him. My conversation with my co-owner went like this:

Me: I'd like to keep Kaeding & drop one of the Bozo's that sits on our bench & doesn't get us any points. What do you think?

Wendy: Drop a Bozo.

So there you have it. Good luck to us!!

Toodles!

A Bargain!!

You may remember last week I got this adorable little camera.

It's replacing the "pencil camera" & I'm calling it an early birthday gift. I said in my last post that I needed to find a cute case. After scouring the internet & not finding anything I was overjoyed about. Well, except the Louis Vuitton Wapity but being that it has Louis Vuitton in front of the "Wapity" that isn't happening. You can't very well pay more for the case than you can the camera now can you?? I also found this one on ebay.

I thought it would be super cute, especially for walking around LSU. Sadly, it ships directly from Hong Kong & I was a little leary. Aside from the 6 yr. olds that are probably making these things in a warehouse (it was only $2.75), I would like to receive it before we go to Disney in December & I just wasn't sure that would happen (shipping was free). I went to Penney's at lunch to return something (yes I will buy something if it's on sale & return the same thing I paid regular price for. Don't hate!), so I looked around to see what they had. I found this.

It's perfect! I know it's not really a camera case but it will work. The camera fits in the front pouch & my phone fits in the inside & there's also a couple of credit card slots & a place for your drivers license. It fits fine in my purse & when I don't want to carry a purse everything I need will fit. Even lipstick! This thing will be great in Disney!

Now comes the bargain! I NEVER, EVER, EVER pay full price for anything at JCPenny's. Seriously. They have great sales. PLUS the coupons! I have a JCP credit card & anything I buy I put on that card. Points are earned on all purchases & they send lots of coupons in the mail. I always pay the balance in full so there's no interest either. Every time you purchase something you can go online & fill out a short survey & get a 15% coupon. That's not a lot off but if you're able to use one on every purchase it adds up. So, my little Liz Claiborne wristlet was regularly priced at $26.00 but it was on sale for $15. I had a 15% off coupon from my last purchase, plus since I was using my JCP card they were giving an additional 15% off & I had a $10 off a $10 purchase coupon that I'd gotten in the mail. My total with tax & rounded up to the nearest dollar for the after school program was $1.00!!!! YEP, you read that right $1.00!! How awesome is that??? I love love love a deal!! With my return, I came out $6.62 ahead on this little trip!! Oh & since I was at the mall I had Chick Fil A for lunch! DELISH!!

Toodles!

Hungry anyone??

My camera came in the other day! WOO HOO!! I was excited. It took forever! Anyway, it's here & so far I really like it. The only pictures I've taken were of stuff in the living room while I was laying on the sofa watching TV. I did load the software on to my computer, get the battery installed & set the date. I had every intention of reading through the manual to figure out how to work it but of course it doesn't have a manual. Just a quick start-up guide. To read the manual I have to go online. I hate doing that. Oh well, I'll give it a try.

I was surprised to see how small the camera was. I knew it was going to be smaller than what I had but this thing is smaller than my iPhone!

It's PINK too!!! How cute is that?? This thing is going to be great! It will fit in a pocket! Now I'm on a mission to find a cute little case for it. I can't carry around a camera as cute as this in an old ugly black case can I??

Moving on. Thursday night Dean & I joined Cliff & Sheri at a wine tasting. It was a fundraiser for Boys Hope/Girls Hope of Baton Rouge. The wine tasting was at Texas de Brazil. There was wine, wine, wine & appetizers. There was this one that was advocado on a cracker thingy with a boiled shrimp on top. DELISH!!!!

Dean & I were both off Friday. We went to Lowe's & Sam's. I LOVE SAM'S!!! Seriously, love love love. I know some people wouldn't be caught dead buying clothes at Sam's, but I'm not one of those people. I found these flip flops. They are some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever put on my feet!! The were marked down to $9.71. Can't beat that!!

 Sam's always has name brand clothes. This sweater is Kenneth Cole & it was $18.

 This one is Izod. I think it was $16.

After Sam's & Lowe's, we had lunch at DeAngelo's. They have really great pizza & the slices are huge!

My favorite is the Cheesy Italian. Sooo good. This morning I got up really early to go have my hair cut & highlighted. I'm really happy I was able to get that done. My hair was getting a tad flat & I don't do flat hair.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working in the backyard. Ugghhh!! Note to self, when you want the entire backyard landscaped remember that means the entire backyard will need to be weeded & re-mulched. Dean did the front yard Thursday when he was off. 13 bales of pine straw later he was finished. We put 20 down today in the backyard around the pool. We still have 2 beds to go but they're not really big so it shouldn't take long. Thankfully, the weather was somewhat cooperative. It was only 77 when we were working.

We went to Mass this afternoon & then stopped at Mike Anderson's to eat. Seems like we did an awful lot of eating this weekend. Anyway, it was delish as usual. We had a group of 18 high school kids sitting next to us. They were going to homecoming. One of the girls had on the most AWESOME pair of shoes I've ever seen!! I refrained from asking the 15 yr. old where she got them but oh they were greatness. Gold glitter heels, ribbon, GREATNESS!!! I think I'm suffering from shoe withdrawals. When I was going to Communion the lady next to me had on a fabulous pair too! The pair of flip flops I got at Sam's are the first pair of shoes I've bought since I can't remember when. I haven't bought a purse since Christmas either! 

So, now we're home watching this sorry excuse for a football game. LSU is winning but this is one of the most boring games I've ever watched. I'm thinking tomorrow is going to be a day filled with a whole lot of nothing!!

Toodles!